Actually, it was already an open secret in advance that in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ we would not only see MCU Spidey Tom Holland, but also the comeback of Tobey Maguire from Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy from the early years. 00 and Andrew Garfield from the two ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ films – even though everyone involved adamantly refused to confirm this until the theatrical release.
So there was still a small amount of residual doubt, but it was precisely this that pushed curiosity to dizzying heights – and may have contributed decisively to the fact that the sequels to ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home” succeeded its successful predecessors. Not only was it able to clearly eclipse the box office, but with a worldwide gross of $1.92 billion it became the third most successful MCU film of all time (after “Avengers: Endgame” and “Avengers: Infinity War”) and the second most successful film of all time, four years (after “Avatar: The Way Of Water”).
This phenomenal result was further enhanced by a revival with additional scenes, which could be seen for the first time in a streaming subscription to WOW a few months later. Since it has now disappeared there, the following provider is on the doorstep: Two months after ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ appeared in the theatrical version on Netflix, the streaming service will deliver the extended version today, December 15, 2023.
The availability of the so-called “More Fun Stuff Version” now makes up for the fact that the two previous Spidey parts were removed from the Netflix subscription a few weeks ago and a trilogy streaming marathon is unfortunately no longer possible there.
That’s behind the “More Fun Stuff Version”
As the title suggests, The extended version of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a version of the film that mainly contains comedic plot extensions. There’s more silliness from Flash (Tony Revolori) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), some extra funny dialogue between the three Peters, and even a little more screen time for Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox).
The new post-credits scene, on the other hand, has a tragic note, humorously looking back on high school days, but there is no trace of Peter after the film’s dramatic ending. In total, the extended version lasts almost nine minutes longer than the theater version, which is already almost two and a half hours long.
But whatever version it is, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” remains one of the best and most fun films in the MCU (only four other entries also received 4.5 out of 5 stars in our FILMSTARTS review). The meeting of the three Spidey incarnations is pure fan service, but does not become an end in itself. Maguire and Garfield not only drop by for brief cameos, but also play a key role in the final third of the film – and not just in the action-packed showdown, but also in MCU Peter’s emotional development. And at the same time, open storylines from their own ‘Spider-Man’ adventures are also brought to a moving conclusion.
That’s what ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is about
After his true identity was revealed, the life of Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker (Tom Holland), has become much more complicated. Peter increasingly longs for everything to go back to the way it used to be – and so he finally asks his old Avengers colleague Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to help him with a magic spell.
But something goes terribly wrong. Instead of letting the audience forget that Peter is Spider-Man, all kinds of villains from other dimensions are suddenly drawn into his world, who are aware of the superhero’s alter ego in their universes. And so Peter tries to put things right, but is quickly overwhelmed…